Humanities & Social Sciences

The Clinton presidency is pivotal, occurring at a particularly sensitive time in American and world history. The Cold War has ended; yet Americans face daunting social and economic problems and are increasingly divided about how to address them. In this perceptive psychological portrait of Clinton and his presidency, expert Stanley Renshon investigates whether Clinton has demonstrated the requisite qualities of judgment, vision, character, and skill to meet the challenges he faces, domestically and internationally, and whether he merits another term. Renshon incisively analyzes Clinton's sweeping ambitions, his enormous confidence in himself and his goals, and his success in convincing people that he genuinely cares about them. He reveals a Bill Clinton whose capacity for political success is often undermined by the very traits for which many praise him. His unusually high self-confidence, for instance, leads him to believe that he can accomplish what others have not, that he can, for instance, reconcile polar opposites such as liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. Remarkably persistent throughout Clinton's career are certain character traits which have defined him to the public--his tendency to make promises he can't keep, his ability to win people over in person, his sudden blind rages. Renshon traces the development of Clinton's character from his early family experiences to his highly successful adolescence and long political career. He illustrates how each step along the way--Clinton's inconsistent experiences as an adored but disregarded child, his attempt to avoid the draft and the consequences of doing so, his marriage to Hillary Rodham whose own psychology has both helped and hurt him, and his tenure as governor during which his character first became a political issue--is crucial to understanding his erratic and controversial presidency. Renshon explores the nature of the Clinton marriage as a political partnership and looks at Hillary Clinton as an associate president. High Hopes gives us a new understanding of why a man with so many talents has become a president whose performance has not measured up to his promise.

It is an article of faith in America that scientific advances will lead to wondrous progress in our daily lives. Americans proudly support scientific research that yields stunning breakthroughs and Nobel prizes. We relish the ensuing debate about the implications—moral, ethical, practical—of these advances. Will genetic engineering change our basic nature? Will artificial intelligence challenge our sense of human uniqueness? And yet the actual implementation of these technologies is often sluggish and much-delayed. From Star Trek to Jurassic Park, the American imagination has always been fascinated by the power of scientific technology. But what does the reality of scientific progress mean for our society? In this controversial book, Steven Goldberg provides a compelling look at the intersection of two of America's most powerful communities—law and science—to explain this apparent contradiction. Rarely considered in tandem, law and science highlight a fundamental paradox in the American character, the struggle between progress and process. Science, with its ethic of endless progress, has long fit beautifully with America's self image. Law, in accordance with the American ideal of giving everyone a fair say, stresses process above all else, seeking an acceptable, rather than a scientifically correct, result. This characteristic has been especially influential in light of the explosive growth of the legal community in recent years. Exposing how the legal system both supports and restricts American science and technology, Goldberg considers the role and future of three projects—artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, and the human genome initiative—to argue for a scientific vision that infuses research with social goals beyond the pure search for truth. Certain to provoke debate within a wide range of academic and professional communities, Culture Clash reveals one of the most important and defining conflicts in contemporary American life.

This book asks how governments in Africa can use evidence to improve their policies and programmes, and ultimately, to achieve positive change for their citizens. Looking at different evidence sources across a range of contexts, the book brings policy makers and researchers together to uncover what does and doesn’t work and why. Case studies are drawn from five countries and the ECOWAS (west African) region, and a range of sectors from education, wildlife, sanitation, through to government procurement processes. The book is supported by a range of policy briefs and videos intended to be both practical and critically rigorous. It uses evidence sources such as evaluations, research synthesis and citizen engagement to show how these cases succeeded in informing policy and practice. The voices of policy makers are key to the book, ensuring that the examples deployed are useful to practitioners and researchers alike. This innovative book will be perfect for policy makers, practitioners in government and civil society, and researchers and academics with an interest in how evidence can be used to support policy making in Africa. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007043, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

The present study is concerned with sources for the history of the dioceses of Reims and Trier since the 8th century. It starts with essential information on the history of these dioceses in the Early Middle Ages which can be traced back mainly to accounts by the influential Archbishop Hinkmar of Reims (845-882). The problems of Hinkmar`s accounts and their continued influence are brought out against the contemporary background of the age of their composition, and their later deformations are followed over time. By taking up the trail of these deformations, the contingency of historical information and transmission becomes clear.

This collection of ‘critical reflections’ on Australian public policy offers a valuable contribution to public discussion of important political and policy issues facing our nation and society. These essays are important not only because of the reputation and position of the various contributors, but because they are incredibly ‘content rich’ and brimming with new ideas.

ISTAT census layers, realized by ISTAT since 1991, are in update; this kind of digital cartography divides the entire national territory in very small enumeration areas to which are linked all the variables gathered during the census surveys. This layer, thanks to the several pieces of information related to each enumeration area, has a huge value for the statistical description of the Italian situation also regarding land cover and land use themes. Therefore, to further enrich the information assets of the ISTAT cartography, Environment and Territory Service of the Institute aims to produce an implementation of the enumeration areas layer to homogenise them with regard their land cover and land use. In addition, this is achieved through a specific code (Cod_TIPO_S) that can be related to the European frame LUCAS (Land Use and Cover Area Survey) legend. LUCAS survey represents the official frame for the dissemination of land cover and use statistics at continental level. For our purpose a specific transcoding table has been created between COD_TIPO_S and LUCAS legend. New enumeration areas layer provides for 47 legend entries In this brief paper both the work carried out and some provisional results for some of the major Italian urban areas are illustrated. The activities are in progress and are based on GIS algorithm and Python scripts.

This book investigates how urban/rural patterns provide differing conditions for living and working. The project is to read and analyse these urban/rural settlement structures and provide insight into the patterns of living and working that have formed them and possible development of a smart networked metropole that integrate the urban and rural socio-economic and physical infrastructures for the future of disused European waterways.

This volume sets the start for the Quaderni “Cesare Alfieri”, commissioned by the Council of the School of Political Sciences of the University of Florence as a scientific and editorial project aimed at involving all the cultural components animating the School. This work is an attempt to create an occasion of dialogue, research to deepen the acquired knowledge and investigate complex social issues from different points of view. For this first Quaderno - or notebook - the Scientific Committee has decided to focus on the concept of "well-being", to observe it from different perspectives and to relate it to the notion of happiness. The survey aims to offer food for thought, some lines for a path, different views on a theme that constitutes one of the great knots that our democracies must face: the well-being to be conquered, especially in the twentieth century, a real challenge for the beginning of a new Millennium.

Eine kritisch befragende Politische Theorie behandelt aktuelle Fragen auf augenöffnende Weise. Oliver Flügel-Martinsen stellt eine solche kritische Zeitdiagnose, die angesichts der globalen Coronakrise besondere Bedeutung hat. Dabei geht es um das Verhältnis von Wahrheitsskepsis und Politik, die neoliberale Hegemonie und ihre Krise, Ausgrenzung und Rechtspopulismus sowie den in den politischen Gegenwartsdiskursen oft verdrängten Aspekt der globalen Ungerechtigkeit. Die kritische Fruchtbarkeit dieses Ansatzes liegt nicht nur in der Gegenwartsdiagnose selbst, sondern in der Möglichkeit, zu zeigen, dass wir in dieser Gegenwart keineswegs gefangen bleiben, sondern über sie hinausgehen können.

This volume explores the relationship between justice and freedom in Hegel’s practical philosophy, with a particular focus on the pivotal concept of reciprocal recognition. The contributors analyze the intersubjective relations between individuals and institutions through the lens of Hegel and demonstrate how his account of justice and freedom can be applied to address pressing issues in political philosophy. Despite extensive scrutiny of the concept of justice by political philosophers, Hegel’s unique account has been notably overlooked. What sets Hegel apart is his emphasis on the inseparable link between justice and freedom. Freedom is inextricably tied to an account of just social relations and institutions, while justice itself is intertwined with a robust endorsement of freedom. The chapters comprising this volume examine three crucial dimensions of Hegel’s framework for freedom and justice. First, the contributors address how Hegel’s distinctive integration of freedom and justice sheds new light on the nature of his practical philosophy. Second, they relate Hegel’s theory to other prominent accounts of justice, including Rawlsian forms of Kantian constructivism, Habermas’ neo‑Kantian discourse theory, republican views, neo‑Aristotelian accounts, and critical theory approaches. Finally, the contributors apply Hegel’s reconstructed theory of justice to ongoing debates encompassing criminal justice, distributive justice, global justice, environmental justice, and issues related to racial and gender justice, as well as populism. "Justice and Freedom in Hegel" will appeal to scholars and advanced students engaged in research on Hegel’s practical philosophy, 19th‑century philosophy, and political philosophy.

This open access book explores the role of the ILO (International Labour Organization) in building global social governance from multiple and mutually complementary perspectives. It explores the impact of this UN´s oldest agency, founded in 1919, on the transforming world of work in a global setting, providing insights into the unique history and functions of the ILO as an organization and the evolution of workers’ rights through international labour standards stemming from its regulatory mechanism. The book examines the persistent dilemma of balancing the benefits of globalization with the protection of workers. It critically assesses the challenges that emerge when international labour standards are implemented and enforced in highly diverse regulatory frameworks in international, regional, national and local contexts. The book also identifies feasible ways to achieve more inclusive labour protection, putting into perspective the tension between the economic and the social in the ILO’s second century of operation. It includes reflections on the work of the ILO World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation by Tarja Halonen, who as President of Finland co-chaired the Commission with Benjamin William Mkapa, President of Tanzania. Written by distinguished experts and scholars in the fields of international labour law and international law, the book provides an insightful and in-depth analysis of the role of the ILO as an international organization devoted to decent work and social justice. It also sheds light on tripartism and its particular role in the work of the ILO, examining the challenges that a profoundly changing working life presents in terms of labour protection and social justice, and examining the transnational dimension of labour law. Lastly, the book includes a postscript by Nobel economics laureate Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Adulthood has a history. This book explores how concepts of adulthood have changed over time in Britain and the United States from 1350 to the present day through eleven case studies. Ideas of adulthood are currently under intense scrutiny, as individuals increasingly reach midlife without necessarily acquiring the 'traditional' markers of maturity. Yet this volume shows that this is not a uniquely turbulent period, and it does not represent the overturning of norms that were previously settled and unquestioned. Expectations for adults have altered over time, just as other age-categories such as childhood, adolescence and old age have been shaped by their cultural and social context. In historicising adulthood, this collection is the first to employ adulthood as a category of historical analysis, arguing that consideration of age is crucial for all scholarship that addresses power and inequality. Collectively, the authors explore four key ideas: adulthood as both burden and benefit; adulthood as a relational category; collective versus individual definitions of adulthood; and adulthood as a static definition. The book also engages with the intersectional identities of gender, race, class, sexuality and disability, and how these affect understandings of adulthood: who gets to be an adult, and who decides?

Materials / States of matter

This book explores dementia-related aggression, violence, and homicide through a detailed analysis of “gray mist killings.” The term gray mist killing refers to intimate partner homicides (IPHs) committed by spouses/partners suffering from dementia, homicides of dementia sufferers committed by their caregiving spouses/partners or other family members, and IPHs attributable to the complications of caring for a co-resident family member suffering from dementia. Killings by people with dementia raise questions about the role of biological, psychological, and sociological forces. This book therefore encourages discussions around the relative weighting of these interrelated forces, and why the criminal justice system and the courts have a hard time handling these killings. It also adds to our understanding of the social responses to people with dementia, the orchestration of services, the nature of caring, and the interaction between sufferers and those familial, community, and state actors that provide support and care. The vividly detailed case studies (from the US, UK and Australia) uniquely inform criminological debates about violence, homicide, and the social responses to these complex phenomena. They are organized around the apparent motives for the killing, such as mercy, theft, prior intimate partner violence, mental illness, and exhaustion. The social responses of families, communities, and state actors are examined and contextualized against what researchers and dementia specialists suggest are promising or best practices for intervention. Apparent triggers or circumstantial precipitants for the killings invite discussion of signals, risks, and preventive interventions. The book culminates in an attempt to make sense of gray mist killings, as well as a discussion of broader implications and significance in relation to globalization, violence against women, the rising prevalence of the dementias, declining birthrates, climate change, and sustainable economic development. Drawing from a variety of disciplines, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, gender studies, social work, law, public policy, and gerontology. It should also appeal to judges, prosecutors, lawyers, social workers, gerontologists, law enforcement, adult protective services, physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists.

Der Band Wien setzt die flächendeckende Bestandsaufnahme des literarischen Lebens in Österreich während des Nationalsozialismus fort. Dem Skandalisieren von Einzelfällen und der Präsenz der Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller im kulturellen Gedächtnis des Landes wird eine umfassende Materialbasis für sachliche Auseinandersetzung mit dem brisanten Thema zur Seite gestellt. Das methodische Anliegen, ein „literarisches Feld“ (P. Bourdieu) des deutschen Sprachraums lexikalisch aufzuschließen, wird in einem neuen Typus von Handbuch umgesetzt, einer spezifischen vernetzenden Kombination von Personen- und Institutionenlexikon. Anhand einzelner Parameter wird die Integration der AutorInnen in die unterschiedlichen Systeme von der Monarchie bis zur Zweiten Republik aufgezeigt.